Fire and Steel
by LunaSaphira17
Summary: "As time goes by, so do friendships. They fade away, ripe with age. These turn into the worst enemies that you will ever meet. The world falls into chaos as these relationships fade, and the world will fall into the hands of those whose greed controls their lives. As time continues, a new friendship will come anew, born of fire and steel... Is this really true? Or just a rumor?


All you could hear was silence. The crickets were silent. The birds were silent. Even the wind was silent as it flowed through the leaves of the trees. It carried a sense of longing, making every creature shiver in the shadows. They stepped out of the comforts of their homes as a lone creature made its way through the grass, its head bowed in acceptance. Its tails flicked to and fro, summoning the little ones to gather around it. They all made a circle and started humming, a slow, sad tempo, making the white creature shiver as well.

It closed its eyes and imagined a charred field, a thin veil of ash still covering the remains of a once beautiful landscape. It grunted in pain as a flurry of memories lashed out, making the creature howl in pain. As the song ended, and the vision dissipated, the creature opened its eyes and gazed sorrowfully at the horizon. One little creature, a golden brown in color, came up and crinkled its face in confusion.

"Ninetales? Why do we do that every season?" It asked curiously. The other creatures nodded.

"Well, my little Vulpix, it is to remember the greatest Pokemon who ever lived."

"You mean the ones who saved our lands?" Vulpix squeaked apprehensively. Ninetales nodded. With a sweep of its tails, he gathered all the young in its folds and led them to a quiet place underneath a great willow. There were scratch marks lining the base of the tree, signifying the territory was occupied.

"Did you know that there was such thing as a Great Prophecy?" He asked, quirking the interest of the small creatures.

"Well, let me tell you that I played a part in helping the Great Prophecy come true."

"You did!?" the little ones squealed excitedly.

"Yes. Now, this particular prophecy stated, 'As time goes by, so do friendships. They fade away, ripe with age. These turn into the worst enemies that you will ever meet. The world falls into chaos as these relationships fade, and the world will fall into the hands of those whose greed controls their lives. As time continues, a new friendship will come anew, born of fire and steel. And this friendship will save the world, for the better, or the worse." Ninetales chuckled as the little Pokemon gasped in awe.

"Wow! So you were really friends with the heroes?" Vulpix asked excitedly, his nose twitching. Ninetales sighed.

"Yes, my young one. But please, do not get your hopes up on me telling you the story-"

"Aww! Why not!" they all whined. Ninetales grimaced at hearing the disappointment in their voices. He gave each of them a little nudge.

"Maybe some other time, alright? I can still feel the pains that we all endured through all of this. It isn't your typical bedtime story." He warned, standing up. He gave his pelt a little shake and trudged out of the little village, traveling across a wide and open plain.

"Why am I going back?" He muttered to himself, picking up the pace. Flurries of memories lashed out harshly at him as he came closer and closer to his destination. He stopped suddenly, for his next step would fall across a barren field, charred beyond recognition. Ash circled around him tauntingly, daring him to make a move. He growled and continued on, ignoring the shadows that followed.

"Was it ever this dark?" He pondered, gazing up at the sun, his eyes wide with curiosity. Silence answered him, smirking as Ninetales slowly surveyed the land. He couldn't believe he was back… back where he last saw his best friends. His searching gaze stopped at a weird shape in the ground. Gingerly placing his paws on the ground, he approached the shape and gasped out in pain.

Two broken pokeballs laid side by side, as if they were drawn together by an invisible force. He poked one of them, struggling to take control of the flood of emotions he was experiencing. He looked a few inches up and yelped in surprise. Two visors laid nearby, both covered in soot. He picked them up, confusion glittering his gaze.

"They survived…" He whispered. The red and white visor had many tears and rips, whilst the pink and white one had only one tiny tear. Ninetales shook his head.

"Always the protective one, weren't you Nate? Always protecting Rosa no matter what happens to you. I wonder where you two are now?" He asked the wind, slightly amused. The wind ruffled his fur gently, pulling his gaze away to another weird object. He picked his way through the hard ground and came upon one lonely, slender branch, glowing against the dull ground. He scoffed.

"No way, Yukine, that can't be what you are thinking!" He leaned down to take a closer look and began to laugh. Towards the ends of the twig and the middle were little teeth marks and claw marks.

"Okay now you are just imagining things!" He growled to himself, tracing the claw and teeth marks tenderly. He sighed in defeat.

"Okay, you won me over! This is definitely the twig that she owned when she was little and those pokeballs are hers and his and the visors are the trainers. Anything else you want to torture me with!?" Yukine roared at the sky, tears flooding his gaze in waves. The wind stilled, leaving him all alone and afraid. He gathered all the items and made his way back to the village, setting them in front of him. The little ones bounded over, then stopped and hesitantly looked up at him.

"Here is what I found at the place. They belonged to the heroes and their trainers." He said sadly. They all gasped in awe an quietly looked at the items. Yukine sighed in defeat once more.

"Settle down little ones, and let me tell you the story behind these items. A long time ago, when I was not yet born, where people and Pokemon were in absolute harmony with each other…"


End file.
